Geoff Holt

Geoff Holt MBE is a disabled yachtsman from Hampshire. Having broken his neck and becoming paralysed from the chest down in a swimming accident aged 18, he went on to become a Marketing Manager for an international firm of accountants. He was the inaugural chairman of the national disabled sailing charity in the UK called RYA Sailability. In 2007 he became the first disabled person to sail single-handed around the UK in a trimaran dinghy. It took him 109 days to sail 1,500 miles and he stopped at 51 harbours around the UK. In 2009 he became the first quadriplegic to sail unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean which won him the title of 2010 Yachsman of the Year and an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Patron off several charities for disabled children, Geoff is also a Board member of the Royal Yachting Association and a member on the RNLI Council. Currently Geoff runs his own consultancy business and is working on his next project, to become the first wheelchair users to sail around the world single-handed. For more information, visit http://www.geoffholt.com